Three years ago I started running short distances with
friends and grew to love the adrenaline boost, added endorphins, and sense of
accomplishment that accompany finishing a run.
I worked my way up in mileage and decided I wanted to train and run a
half marathon. I completed my first half
marathon in April at the Thanksgiving Point Half. It was amazing but extremely hard as there
were a lot of rolling hills. I decided I
wanted to train better and harder and attempt a second half marathon. I researched half marathons in Utah and read
reviews before finally deciding upon running the Timpanogas Half Marathon.
Packet pick-up was held at the Traverse Outlets in Lehi for
two days prior to the race. It was
extremely well organized and the staff was very energetic and helpful.
Race day required an early wakeup call of 3:15 AM as racers
had to be shuttled from Lonepeak High school up American Fork Canyon to the
start line. I picked up my running
partner Amber at 4:00 AM, arrived at Lonepeak High school at 4:15 AM, loaded a
shuttle at 4:20 AM, and reached the start line at 5:00 AM.
The start line set up was awesome! There was a large parking lot area set up for
group yoga before the race. Behind the
parking lot was a long line of portable bathrooms and behind that was the Start
Line! When we arrived we still had an
hour before the race began so we participated in the group yoga session to warm
up and stretch our muscles.
There was anticipation and excitement in the air as we lined
up behind our trail markers before the race began. Amber and I snapped a few pictures on my
iphone(that doubles as my ipod during races) and waited patiently with the
other runners for the race to begin. At
6:10 Amber and I crossed the start line and we were off! The beginning of the race was a little
congested as we were limited to one lane for runners and one lane for traffic
coming or leaving the canyon. The
congestion lessened after the 2 mile marker as runners found their pace.
The canyon was gorgeous.
We watched the sunrise hit Timpanogos Mountain as we ran on the paved
road next to the stream. Early riser
campers were set up along the way to watch and cheer us on! There were break stations set up along the
trail about every 3 miles that included water, Gatorade, Gu, oranges, and the
lovely portable bathrooms. Almost 8
miles of the race were downhill through American Fork Canyon. The scenery was breathtaking and watching the
sunrise was my favorite part of the race.
After making our way down the canyon we turned onto the
Murdock Trails which gave a nice change of pace as this area was more
level. There were a few small hills but
nothing too steep to climb. We made our
way through the trail and looped our way through neighborhoods towards the
final home stretch. My legs were aching
from the downhill portion of the race but I had set out to reach a goal of two
hours and ten minutes (10 minutes faster than my previous time). I turned on a good song and picked up the
pace. Near the finish line a huge group
of spectators were present to cheer us on!
It gave me such an adrenaline rush that I sprinted towards the finish
line. I reached the finish line in
2:06:30. I was so proud of myself! After crossing the finish line a staff member
was right there pushing water bottles into our hands and adorning us with our
medals! It was a very victorious moment
for me. I had just beaten my previous
race time by 14 minutes!
Amber and I took some photos at the finish line and made our
way through the line of racers to grab some post-race food. I instantly guzzled down a glass of icy cool
chocolate milk and reached for a banana, hoping it would help with my recovery. I passed up on the smoothies, chocolate chip
cookies, and Great Harvest Bread as my hands and mouth were completely full and
occupied. I wish I would have grabbed a
slice of that Great Harvest Goodness. Next time.
Overall, I absolutely loved the Timpanogas half and plan on
running this race again next year. It
was well planned, organized, and full of breathtaking views. Three of my favorite things! I recommend this race to all levels of
runners. I only wish I had trained
running downhill a little more as my legs were definitely sore for a few days
following the race. See you at the start
line next year!
